Boston Calling

Walking away from Boston’s Central Plaza with the beat still ringing in my ears, it was impossible to pinpoint one standout moment from the second day of the May 2015 Boston Calling Music Festival. Perhaps when Marina Diamandis of Marina and the Diamonds exploded onto the stage with her phenomenal vocals, wearing a work-of-art headband lettered with her latest album title Froot? Or maybe seeing Killer Mike perform on a massive stage for thousands with the same thrumming energy that he brought to the Student Union ballroom last spring? Or when Tove Lo flashed the audience mid-song? Even now, each performance is stark in my mind, a testament to the undeniable musical quality and talent highlighted by the Boston Calling Music Festival.

Marina and the Diamonds perform at Boston Calling. Photo by Aiden Ford

A biannual event beginning in 2013, the festival does not limit itself to pulling from any one genre of music. Rather, each day is a smorgasbord of musical diversity. Saturday alone featured indie pop artist St. Vincent, hip hop duo Run the Jewels, blues and folk performer Ben Harper, and electropop princess MO, among others. As an audience member, it provides the unique opportunity to not only arrive a fan, but become a fan in the space of a single afternoon.

This is the second festival showing I have personally attended, and it will absolutely hold a place in my future May and September schedules.